Monday March 25th, 2013

“None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself”

–Prophet Muhammed (Peace be upon him)

Three years ago, when I was in Cejep I met this bubbly, adorable, and extremely lovable girl.

Azar Briefkani.

To say it briefly (see what I did there?) she is: amazing, huggable, beautiful, honest, big-hearted, caring, kind, generous, humble, crazy, compassionate, gentle, vicious, sometimes psychotic (out of love), considerate, gorgeous, awesome, open-minded, loving, positive, concerned, encouraging, faithful, fun, trust-worthy, friendly, smiley, joyful, patient, forgiving, thoughtful, hopeful, laughable, optimistic, loyal, insightful, respectful, strong etc…

I had to stop somewhere. I mean, how do you honestly capture someones entire being with words?

Blood or not-when someone is Muslim they become sister or brother and we treat them in such a manner. So you see Azar, I have a very big heart and I love to love people. So I loved you even before I met you simply because of the fact you’re my sister in Islam and humanity.

(This should end the fight between who loves each other more! HA!)

She’s had her up’s and down’s, right’s and left’s, twist and turns, but despite everything-she remained an amazing and faithful friend; always smiling showing her perfect teeth, laughing a laugh so contagious your spirits begin to lift and soon find yourself laughing at the most ridiculous things (like…at me), and I can’t think of a single boring moment when we were together! She brings the stupid side out of me and I love it because I am rather a ridiculous person, and if I can express my stupidity with anyone and not be judged-its Azar.

I can’t even begin to express how encouraging she is. With every small goal I reach-her encouragements are endless. Her hugs are to die for (maybe because we’re both short and  I don’t have to feel bad for the other person to bend their back even though I’m on my tippy toes). And I won’t even bother talking about her edible cheeks. She is an incredible friend (in case I didn’t make that clear enough) and alhamdulilah I am so honored and blessed to have met such a beautiful blessing in my life.

Anyways, its 2:30am-and I have procrastinated for far too long, but I hope you understand how much of a friend you mean to me, and how much I love you for the sake of Allah (love could hardly be captured in words though!). When I see you, I will squish you, and wish you a proper happy birthday.

Happy 22nd Birthday my love! ❤

No Excuses.

For quite a few years this invisible force would tighten around my throat when it was time to talk about my religion. Yes, my beautiful, perfect, and glorious religion—Islam, and I would dare hesitate.
Shame on me.

Don’t get me wrong-if a teacher spoke falsely about Islam, I would definitely correct them, or if someone asks me a direct question, I would answer. But that’s where the conversation ended, and I would make no effort in trying to continue.

I always had the false impression that my deen was not well enough and so I developed an insecurity about it– that maybe a few more years of working on it I will be a little bit more knowledgeable and will not be so incompetent to speak on behalf of the most beautiful religion in the world. I was afraid that my words would give injustice and thought I would do best to remain silent. But as someone beautifully quoted at a recent workshop; “Do not wait until your deen is perfected to give Da’wah, but rather giving Da’wah is a means of perfecting your deen.”

And this is true—in my Psychology of Education class we learnt that the more you speak about a subject, not only do you retain the information faster, but you end up believing in it more-which makes you more fluent in the subject and would grasp any opportunity to speak about a subject you are so comfortable with.

And how exactly was I supposed to get comfortable with speaking when everything I know is just there, floating around in my brain, with no one benefiting but myself? What excuse would I give to my creator when on the Day of Judgment I will be asked why I didn’t do my duty in giving da’wah? Confidence issue? Nice try Noor…

But this has changed, and I have changed. And this blog post is to remind me that I’m stepping up my game! As long as I have 100% belief that the message I’m trying to convey is the truth, why am I constantly worried about being wrong?

Alhamdulilah for the workshop I attended. I left the room with my confidence boosted, and my love for Islam to soar higher than ever! I am so fortunate to have a religion that gives me peace of mind-it would be selfish to keep it all to myself. 🙂